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ITV Report

31 August 2013 at 10:44pm

Angry protests after three-year sentence for India teen rapist

Video report by ITV News correspondent Sejal Karia

A teenager was sentenced to three years in juvenile detention by a court in New Delhi for the December gang rape of a trainee physiotherapist, the first verdict in a case that sparked debate over whether India is too soft on young offenders.

According to police, the 18-year-old and five other men lured the 23-year-old woman and her male friend onto a New Delhi bus where they repeatedly raped her and beat them both with a metal bar before dumping them on to a road.

The woman died in a Singapore hospital two weeks after the December 16 attack.

The case turned a global spotlight on the treatment of women in India, where police say a rape is reported every 20 minutes.

The court found the juvenile guilty under rape and murder charges, and accordingly sentenced him to three years in jail.

Four of the teenager's co-accused are still on trial and face the death penalty if convicted.

The family of the victim was distraught after hearing the verdict as a teary-eyed mother of the young girl said that this judgement would make other girls in the country more vulnerable to such brutalities.